it starts like this
by Marvelgeek42
Summary: Not even Snow can kill an idea once it has evolved, no matter how hard he will try.


**For** ** _Cheeky Slytherin Lass_** **, I hope you like it!**

 **This is my first Hunger Games story.**

 **Word Count: 1,012**

* * *

 _ **it starts like this**_

* * *

It starts like this.

Johanna Mason is pissed, when she first hears the _complete and utter bullshit_ the Capitol is planning for their oh-so glorious Quarter Quell.

There isn't a single reason why she wouldn't be.

She had fought hard in her Games, she had suffered, endured days upon days of hunger and pain—she hadn't faked all of it—in a vain attempt for survival.

She had been forced to watch people she liked die—it wasn't possible to avoid liking people, she had tried—had been forced to _kill_ , but, apparently, it was all for nothing.

And now, with the Capitol reaping past Victors, she will have to do it all again.

There is no other way this could end. Just like that Everdeen girl from 12, Johanna is the only living female Victor from her District.

There is no way out of this.

* * *

She actively debated running away a few times. Everyone does at some point, even if they frequently claim otherwise.

They are just lying to themselves.

It's not like she has anything to lose.

Johanna has no friends or family in her District and she can not possibly care less for the stuff the Capitol had thrown at her once she had won.

* * *

When she arrives in the Capitol, Johanna instantly seeks out Finnick.

She feels like he is her only real friend in this whole mess so far.

"How's it going with Annie?" she asks.

Finnick grins. "Great, actually. She's pregnant."

Then, he realizes where they are and what is happening and grimaces. "Hopefully I'll be able to see my child."

"You could try," Johanna proposes. She's fully aware of what she is suggesting, and a part of her is terrified of herself.

The rest of her feels more like an empty shell.

Finnick looks into her eyes. "You and I both know that I can't. Not really."

And he is right. One way or another, they are all going to die.

The Capitol seems to be trying to get ahead of the schedule regarding that particular point.

* * *

Johanna meets Everdeen and she isn't sure what to think.

The girl is possibly the most innocent of them all and yet she is also the greatest rebel.

She has a symbolism associated with her, she stands for a cause.

That is something that Johanna can only admire.

* * *

This week of training is different from the last one.

Everyone's properly fed, for one thing. For another, everyone knows what they are doing.

Johanna isn't sure what the Capitol is hoping to achieve with this little experiment of theirs, but she knows one thing.

The past Victors all know each other. They know their strengths, their weaknesses, their secrets.

This Quarter Quell is going to be different from any Game before it.

She's simply not sure who is going to suffer the consequences.

* * *

It starts like this.

During his interview, Mellark confesses that Everdeen is having a baby.

The timing is well planned, everyone in Panem is watching this right now; there is no one who will not be forced to think about this. Forced to think about the lives that will be taken in a new context.

Johanna isn't sure if it's truth or lie, but that doesn't matter.

What matters is what the Girl on Fire does in response.

The girl points out that they all—well, almost all—have families that love them, and miss them.

"Most of us will never see them again. I think that if I die, if I lose this… this child, then at least it won't suffer the same way many others will be and are doing every year."

She's shockingly persuasive, if one judges that by the rage of the studio audience.

Good job, 12.

* * *

The day before they get into the arena, all of the Tributes, the Victors, go dancing together on the roof.

It's not particularly safe, but it is not as if that would make much of a difference.

Johanna is not sure who had this idea, nor is she certain whether or not she likes it.

It makes them all seem so much more human than before.

It makes them more connected than Tributes ever were before.

The Gamemakers want a special Game this year and they are going to get it.

Just not the way they expect.

* * *

For the first time in her entire life, Johanna sees a protest.

She wasn't even aware that that was a thing, really, but here they are. Capitol citizens, protesting against the Hunger Games.

Not just having a different opinion, but voicing it.

She knows enough to see it's just a small percentage of the people, but the idea is there and that is enough.

Not even Snow can kill an idea once it has evolved, no matter how hard he will try.

* * *

They arrive at the arena. They are still on the train, together, even if no one is really sure why.

"This isn't how I wanted it to end," someone says. Johanna isn't paying enough attention to figure out who it was.

Someone else—a woman this time—laughs and responds, "Do you think I did? Or anyone here?"

"This is worse than the first time," Finnick—she would know that voice everywhere—acknowledges. "This time we are going to be killing our friends."

"What if we don't?" Everdeen proposes.

"They will force us to," Gloss—that voice had annoyed her just often enough—dismisses the idea. "And besides, isn't this what we trained for?"

"No," Beetee shakes his head. "No, it really isn't."

* * *

During the time she's forced to spend apart from the other Victors, she properly debates Everdeen's idea.

What can the Gamemakers reall do? The sponsors decide about their supplies and Johanna is pretty sure the people would support them.

The only thing the Gamemakers can do is turning the arena against them, but does it really matter _how_ they die when it is going to happen either way?

She comes to a decision.

She just hopes it is the right one.

* * *

It starts like this.

There is a countdown.

Not one of them starts running.

* * *

 **Please tell me what you think!**

 **~Marvelgeek42**


End file.
